NASA warp drive in the works, future space travel could use electromagnetic propulsion

Nasa – Warp drives that let humans zip around other galaxies may no longer belong purely in the realm of science fiction.

Scientists have quietly been testing a new drive that would enable spacecrafts to travel faster than the speed of light.

The hope is that one day this will allow humans to reach the moon in just four hours.

The new ‘warp’ drive works on an electromagnetic system, which creates thrust from electrical energy without rocket fuel.

The ‘EmDrive’ engine bounces microwaves around in a closed container – providing thrust from nothing except solar energy to power the microwaves.

Technically – according to current understanding of physics – this should be impossible.

This should violate the laws of ‘conservation of momentum’, whereby the momentum of a system is constant if there are no external forces.

The implications for the new drive are huge – without needing fuel, satellites could be half the size.

Humans could also travel further into space than ever before.

Agencies/Canadajournal